RFG Advisory LLC Reduces Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

RFG Advisory LLC lowered its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,519 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,970 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC owned about 0.07% of Service Co. International worth $7,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,600,000 after acquiring an additional 492,822 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock worth $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,624,000 after acquiring an additional 27,429 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,650,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,734,000 after acquiring an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,459,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,487,000 after acquiring an additional 118,832 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on SCI shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total value of $410,076.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,336,651.72. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $78.18. The stock had a trading volume of 781,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,070,465. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $68.84 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.16%.

About Service Co. International

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.